Tourists were left horrified after they saw Shamba dragging the owner of Marakele Animal Sanctuary into the bushes.

Hodge sustained injuries to his neck and jaw, but his life was saved after Shamba was shot. The family described the incident as a 'double-tragedy', seeing that the 10-year-old lion was hand fed by Hodge.

According to his wife, Hodge is trying to put on a brave face but he is struggling to come to terms with the death of the lion he raised by hand.

But, the Hodge family is not the only ones mouring the loss of Shamba- South Africans have taken to social media to express their 'grief' over the lion's death. And, soon #RIPShamba started to trend on Twitter.

"Just when we thought there won't be any other RIP! They took a young life for believing in himself. You may be gone Shamba,but you've left a serious mark in someone's life. Literally #RIPShamba", one tweep wrote.

Some tweeps felt the incident was a signal, Tumi Sole wrote, "Bathi Shamba refers to Land/Field in Swahili. The signal couldn't have been clearer!"

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